In general, I like the new Darkin lore. It took a bit to adjust to the Darkin now being corrupted Ascended, but I think after it settled in, I like it more. The feeling of connectedness that some people dislike I think makes their stories more compelling. We now have a relatively complete picture of Shuriman history, which is important to the whole of Runeterra and many stories. Darkin are a part of that, and that makes their stories more interesting and more important. Before, they were this external threat, and now they are somewhat internal and there is more depth to them because they have such a history.
Someone else's post (I believe it was Warlord Dienekes' post) explained my feelings really well on Aatrox specifically. When he's allowed to be more philosophical like his former self, he's great. There's too much yelling in his in-game lines though. Other than that, I like his place in the lore; he still feels powerful and threatening, but he's a character that has gone through presumably several arcs and has more to come. I don't think old Aatrox really had that.
I absolutely LOVE Kayn and Rhaast; you have these two characters who, while on their own are good, become far more interesting when paired. Both have been rewarded for their violence in the past, and now have really messed up ideas about violence as a way of earning their place in the world, but these ideas have developed from very different backgrounds. Rhaast has obviously seen some shit, like the other Darkin, and has led to this really messed up individual. Kayn has only ever known violence his whole life; Zed found and accepted him when he saw his skill as a child soldier. They play off of one another great, and they are actually surprisingly similar given their wildly different backgrounds. Almost feels like if they had been born in more similar circumstances, they would have been good friends. I can't wait to see how their relationship develops.
Varus is by far my least favorite change. I have no problem with him being added to the Darkin roster, but I think we lost too much of old Varus. Varus used to be an emotional and compelling character, with themes of family vs duty and dealing with loss. They managed to retain some of the themes of love but in the most cliche feeling way. Who are Kai and Val and why should I care? They've had two comics featuring them and I still don't have any sense of their personalities, feelings, or anything. Same with Varus himself: he's no Rhaast and he's definitely no Aatrox. This could have been a really good opportunity to show a Darkin host actually cooperating; maybe the Darkin had some sympathy for Varus losing his family. But instead we get a "love will prevail" theme, which is fine, but not as good or unique as what we had before.
Overall, I think the Darkins are in a better place. Its a shame that League lore has such growing pains anymore, feels like every time some new bit of lore comes out, something gets retconned. That's what makes Yuumi and Qiyana's lore so refreshing (for the moment): they add to the world without changing something already established (maaaybe the name of the Kumungu jungle has changed, but that's a change I can live with).
